My recommendation! Mr. Okuyama's sales style:
My ally, Hideno Okuyama, who lives for creation

I'm Kojima, the operations director/coder. Taking over from Matsunaga-san, the member I'd like to introduce today is Okuyama-san, our sales representative who won the Monosus Annual MVP Award for 2021!

I used to work with Mr. Okuyama at Coding Factory (CF). To me, he is like a "comrade" and we have overcome many challenges together. He is a member of the team with whom I have a very close relationship.

In the past few years, many things have changed, but I would like to introduce you to "Mr. Okuyama" and "various things related to Mr. Okuyama" in the following order, while sharing a little candid information about his thoughts and approach to his work.

On the changes over the past few years:
One-person unit operating during the COVID-19 pandemic

Kojima : If I wrote a regular article introducing the members, it would end up sounding like a one-sided, fanatical Okuyama fan, or like a late-night love letter. I wanted to meet Okuyama-san face-to-face and talk with him, so I made it into a dialogue format.

Okuyama : Yes! Thank you very much.

As for Kojima Okuyama-san, Tatsuta-san wrote a very good article about him a few years ago . It was so perfect that there was nothing more to write about him from when he joined the company until he became a manager, so this time I'll talk about what happened after that.
After working as a manager in the sales department, in 2020 the organizational restructuring introduced the business owner and unit system, and he became a one-person unit. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major changes in the situation, so what have you been doing, Mr. Okuyama? I would like to ask you about that.
First of all, how is business going these days?

Okuyama: I used to go to two or three sales meetings a day, but now I hardly have to. But honestly, I don't feel any sense of crisis. I can talk to customers in other regions online.

Kojima: I don't have to travel anymore, so I'm actually able to get more work done.

OKUYAMA: I feel like efficiency has improved. It feels like the hurdles to online meetings have been lowered. It's become easier to talk to customers about even the smallest things, so it feels like we have a relationship where we can share information more easily.

Kojima: From the spring of 2021, you will be taking over the work of the other members. I was really worried about whether you would be okay, Okuyama-san.

Okuyama: Of course I'm busier than before, but I think I've gotten better at working. I'm writing emails, making estimates, replying to Chatwork. But I'm not pushing myself too hard, like I used to, working until late at night. My husband is now working remotely, so I have enough time to cook, eat and clean up three meals a day. Wait, is it okay to talk like that?

Kojima : Yes, yes. I think everyone was probably worried about how he would balance his work.

Okuyama has been in a one-man unit since 2019. The sales department that I was in charge of was abolished, the other members went to other departments, and I became a one-man team with an executive. To be honest, I resisted at first. I wanted to work with everyone as a manager, so I wanted to try a little harder.
But, I think I'm better at things that other people say are good, rather than things that I think are good. So I thought I'd give it a try.

Kojima: That's right.

Okuyama: After a few months, I was already relaxed! I can't help but laugh at how adaptable I am. Up until then, I felt like I was working really hard, but after a break, I was able to work at my own pace. I was also able to build relationships with customers and company members in the way that I wanted to. That's how I asked Kojima if he wanted to join the operations team.

Okuyama's sales style ①:
PM-style sales: Matching is fun

Kojima: I came to work in operations about two years ago.

Okuyama: At a time when the company's internal structure was undergoing major changes, I thought I could lure Kojima-san, who was then the head of the CF department, to the operations side. I'm sure he was good at that job, but I felt that this would suit him better, and I also wanted someone I could trust to be involved in the projects I was involved in.

Kojima: So that's how he saw me.

Not only Mr. Okuyama Kojima, but I input everyone's strengths and what kind of person they are into my head. So I naturally think about who will work well on this project. I don't really think about it, it's just a feeling. It's fun to feel like we're matching well.

Kojima: I think he's more like a director, or like a PM (project manager). He doesn't just bring in work, he also thinks about who to assign and even the cast.

Okuyama : Yes. I think I'm good at that, but the things that people do and the way they proceed are different depending on the sales person. The other day, I had a meeting with Sakamoto-san (BtoB sales representative). I asked him if we could have a chat for a while. When we talked, we found that we had completely different ways of doing things. I can't make plans or proposals like Sakamoto-san, so I thought it was amazing. Everyone has their own way of doing things, and I realized that we just need to develop what we can do and what we're good at.

Kojima: I think the idea of developing your strengths can be said for Monosus as a whole. That being said, I thought that salespeople had a certain "type" to them, but it's really free format.

Okuyama : When I do something I'm not good at, I become very inefficient. I'm actually quite anxious. And, you know, I'm quite scared. Every autumn, I get a stomach ache thinking about next year.

Kojima: I'm not worried about this season, but about next year.

OKUYAMA : Yes. It was vague. I feel like I start to feel better around February. That's a simple thing.

Okuyama's sales style ②:
I want to be involved from start to finish

Kojima: Even now, it's still a one-person unit, but we have Okuyama-san, who does work similar to a PM, and several years ago Matsubara-san (CF's sales support director) started providing support from project consultation and estimates to handing the project over to the production staff. I think this system is quite unique.

Okuyama : There are many companies where the director also works in sales. But it must be pretty tough to negotiate while working on production.

Kojima : When there's a problem, if you're both director and sales, you're both involved, so I think it's going to be a lot of arguing. If you take what the customer says at face value, it's going to hurt you even more because it's about you. But if you have a sales person there to mediate and handle the conversation, you can calmly move the conversation forward. He listens to the opinions of the production side, but Okuyama-san is very neutral, so the other party can speak honestly. I think there were many times when that prevented the problem from getting bigger.

Okuyama : I also try not to take sides with my team members, but listen to both sides and try to find a middle ground. There's no textbook on how to reach an agreement, so I just do it based on my own intuition. But I think that's actually a necessary part of my job as a salesperson in our company.

Kojima : I know that Okuyama-san is involved in the production right up to the end, no matter what (laughs).

Okuyama is something else (laughs)
I also attend meetings. I've never been able to leave it to the production team and then say "goodbye" on any project. I notice things before everyone else raises the alarm, or when I'm worried about the customer's feelings even though no one else notices, I send a message. I think being able to do that is an important part of my job.
Also, I feel like if we only ask the sales department when we have a problem, everyone will feel reluctant. If possible, I would like to attend all the meetings. If there is anyone who would like to not attend all the meetings, please let me know.

Kojima : No, no, I'm very grateful. When you're working on a project, you get completely immersed in it, so sometimes you don't notice the little subtleties. It's reassuring to know that they're watching over you. When I get confused because I'm overthinking things too much, they're there to listen to me and organize my thoughts. Keeping an eye on the project throughout is a great support for the production team. I think that's a role that surprisingly few other companies have.

Okuyama: Is it really a sales job to be that involved? I don't know, but that's my style. I simply want to be involved in a project from start to finish. I want to run alongside the client rather than handing them the baton.

Kojima: That's it! I think we have a lot of similar sensibilities. After all, you don't want to deliver something you don't really understand without really understanding it. You want to give back to the customer in a way that fulfills their wishes. You try to take a lot of responsibility there. We have similar mindsets, so I think we can work together despite what we say. It's a good feeling.

A little candid talk:
Honesty and perfect balance

Okuyama : I say what I think, so I might be misunderstood sometimes. I try not to give customers a pretense, but to speak in my own words. They'll know if I'm lying, and I think if I'm not being honest, they won't understand.

Kojima: I think what's great about Okuyama is that he's honest and doesn't discriminate.

Okuyama : I feel like Kojima-san is the one I want to say the most to in the company. To be honest, there are some things I can only say to Kojima-san. I wonder. We're close in age, and we've both been in management positions. I think he'll understand without me having to say it.
There aren't many people like that in my work. Sometimes I feel like I'm hurting them. I'm sorry. I don't mean any harm.

Kojima: No no, I'm not very good at implied things, so it's easier for me to just leave it as it is. But I feel like my choice of words and the way I talk have changed a little, what do you think? I think I was more straightforward before. But recently, it's actually me who gets all muscular first, and then he sums things up nicely.

Okuyama : Let's calm down. Before, I was the one who would always say "how muscular!" first.

Kojima : Exactly. Recently, there are times when I think, "Wow, Okuyama-san is calming me down right now." It feels like our positions have been reversed.

OKUYAMA: That's the kind of relationship we have, yeah.

Kojima: Since we started working on operations together, our relationship has changed.

When Kojima Okuyama was at CF, we would deliver a project and then move on to the next one, so I don't think we really delved deep into anything or shared our thoughts with each other. But now that he's in charge of operations, we've been able to do that.

Kojima: That's right. I was approached by the operations department and felt like I could settle down and do my job. Gradually, I was getting closer to the customers, and I thought that was great.
Of course, there were times when I disagreed with Mr. Okuyama, and he would tell me the right timing as a salesperson, saying, "It's not now, so wait a little longer." Then, at the perfect timing, he would cut right to the customer. Oh, so that's what he was going to say now.

Okuyama: That was sudden (laughs)

Kojima: As a result, it feels like you're really connecting with the customers, and that's really touching!

What lies ahead:
I want to continue this job as long as there is demand.

Kojima: By the way, do you have any vision for the future, or how you would like to work?

OKUYAMA: I've been thinking lately that it would be nice to continue this job until I reach an age where everyone will accept me. I often think about when I'll retire from this job every year.

Kojima is amazing. He looks like a baseball player.

Don't you think Okuyama ? I wonder how many more years he'll be working.

Kojima: That's true. Things move fast in the world of the web. I wonder how long I will be needed.

Okuyama : Even more than me, there are fewer cases where engineers wonder what they're going to do when they get older.

Kojima: I think that I will no longer be able to keep up with the technology, and will gradually become more like a PM. After that, I won't be dismissed, but I'll be sitting on the veranda sipping tea.
I'm also thinking about sweeping the garden as the caretaker of the guesthouse. I need to finish building the guesthouse by then.

Okuyama: I want to work hard when I'm needed, and I'm glad to be an employee of Monosus.

Kojima: What do you think is great about being an employee?

Okuyama: Because I found a job that I could do seriously and with my own ideas. I felt like I could do things responsibly after going from part-time to full-time. I think it was good for my life, or rather, for my existence. Yes. I don't set goals or visions or anything like that every year, but I think it would be good if I could continue to give back what is expected of me.

Kojima: I see.

Okuyama: If you need anything, please ask me, everyone. That's what I want to say. I look forward to working with you in the future.

On the day of the interview, as if by coincidence, we were both wearing black and white clothing, which I thought was interesting as it somehow symbolized our relationship (laughs).
Counting from when I was an outside member of Monosus, we've been together for about 10 years. Along the way, we've had a lot of arguments, we've talked a lot, we've put our heads together and thought about things, we've run alongside each other, we've been happy to overcome obstacles together, and so on. After all that time, we now have "a trust that goes beyond trust, it's an extremely thick and passionate trust." At Monosus, we have a phrase called "Tomohata" (working with people you want to live with), and to me, Okuyama-san is an ally who "lives to create" with me!
So in the end, I ended up writing something like a midnight love letter (bitter laugh).
But really, I am filled with gratitude for working with you. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you so much. And I hope you will continue to support me in the future!

Lastly, if you are interested in this unique sales and production approach, or if you feel a sense of security, please contact Okuyama-san with any project inquiries. Thank you very much!